Amalgamator and concentrator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

O. W. PATTEN. AMALGAMATOR AND GONGENTRATOR. No. 249,791. Pafiented Nov.221881;

Inenfur:

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2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

G. W. PATTEN.

AMALGAMATOR AND GONGENTRATOR.

No. 249,791. Patented Nov. 22,1881

Wn E 55 E 5 N. FETERS. Fmlo-Lnhngnplw. Wlshmglum O, C.

A and concentrating the sulphurets and other NETE l STATES ATENT ENCE,

CHARLES XV. PATTEN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

AMALGAMATOR AND CNCENTRATOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 249,791, dated November22, 1881.

Application filed March 3, 1881.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, CHARLES W. PATTEN, of the city and connty of SanFrancisco, in the Stateof California, haveinvented an Im provedAmalgamator and Ooncentrator; and I do hereby declare that the followingis afull, clear, and cxact description thereof, reference being' ha-d tothe accompanying drawings.

Myinvention relates to'animproved machine for amalgamating the freeparticles of gold heavy particles contained in ore pulp, sand, gravel,and other anriferons material, and refers more particularly to thatclass in which the trongh is snpported at its front end upon snitablewheels or rollers, and havin g imparted to it a compound lateral andlongitndinal motion.

The invention consists in the details of construotioifas illustrated inthe drawings and hereinafter described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a lon gitudinalsection. Fig. 2 is a top View. Fig. 3 is a Vertical transverse section.Fig. 4 is a side elevation taken from the left-hand side of Fig. 3.

A is a trongh or sluice-box, the upper or receiving end of which isclosed by an end board, B. The floor of this box or trough is made oftwo or more sections or len gths, which overlap each other at one end,as shown. The lower section, c, is placed at a slight inclination towardthe closed end of the box or trough. The next section, d, is placed withits lower end resting ugon and overlapping the upper end of the sectionc, thus cansing its npper snrface to be slightly inclined toward theclosed end of the box. The next section and the succeeding ones are allplaced and Secured in the same manner, only the upper section is formedof two inclined snrfaces, c f, the upper one of which (inarked f)inclines in an opposite direc tion, extending from the head-board B, soas to meet the rearwardly-inclining i'orward half or surface, e, thnsforming a shallow V-shaped trongh at the npper end of the box. Thesurface of the box therefore has the V-shaped trough atits upperen d,next to the head-board, and two or more backwardly-inclined surf-aces,the ends of which overlap each other. All of these snrfacos may beoovered with-Copper (No model.)

find it only necessary to copper and amalgamate the V-trong'h and one ortwo of the npper sections. This box 1 inonnt at a slight inclination,with its closed or receiving end somewhat higher than its open ordisoharge end, so as to obtain a ready flowage of the pulp over thesnrfaces and through the box. I support the box upon one or more wheelsor pnlleys, Gr, upon which the under side of the box rests midwaybetween its sides, suitable grooves being made lengthwise ot' the box,in which the wheels traverse. This permits the box to rock from side toside and at the and amalgamated, if dcsired 3 but in practice I positeends of an overhead rocking or walking.

beam, I, which is monnted on a frame above the trongh. Motion isimparted to this rocker or walking' beam from a crank-shaft, J, by asystem of levers, K Z. The longitudinal or lengthwise motion -isprodnced by a cam or cams, 1), on the crank-shaft J aoting against alever, Q, from which a pnsh-beam, R, extends to the closed or npper endof the' box. The forward end of this push-beam is turned round and fitsin a ronnd hole in the end of the box,

so that it does not interfere with the rocking.

motion.

In the frame-work above the receiving or closed end of the trongh Imonnt a hopper, S, into which the pulp or material to be treated isplaced. Below the bottom of the hopper I place a shaking-screen, T,through which the material is sifted by themotion of the screen beforeit passes into the chnte U, which delivers it to the box. The largepieces which cannot pass through the screen are delivered on one sideand conducted outside of the machine through a side chute, V.

In Operating' the machine 1 place a qnantity of qnicksilver in theV-trough at the upper IOO end of the box, and the pulp, sand, or othermaterial to be treated s sifted from the hopper and falls into theV-trough. A perforated wateripo, XV, extends across the box close to itsuppcr or closed end, through which numerous fine streams of water areejected into the trough and upon the Quicksilver. The rocking motion ofthe box then agitates the pulp, water, and uicksilver, throwing it firstfrom one side to the other in the manner of handpanning, or moreproperly, similar to the operation performed by the rocker formerly usedin placer-mining, so as to bring the gold particles in contact with theuicksilver, and thus insure alnalgamation. The water carries the pulpalong over the inelined sections. As it passes up the grade of eachsection the heavy particles are settled to the bottom by the rockingmotion, while the backward motion and sudden jar or cohcussion causethem to travel back to the lowest pai t of theinclines,the1ight portionbeing carried contin nousl y forward and over the discharge end of theboX by the Water. Transversel y across the bottom of the npper orpan-shaped section I make a passage or channel, X, which passes entirelythrough thc fioor in front of the mercury-trough, and this passage orchanncl I cover with a plate, y, in which a number of holes orperforations are made. Underneath this plato I arrange another andsimilar plate, 2', in which similar and corresponding perforat-ions aremade, so that it will slide back and forth and cover and uncover theholes in the upperplate. In startiug the machine I leave the holescovered until a quantity of sulphurets have accumulatcd, after which Idraw the lowcr plate or slide, so as to uneover the holes and allow thesulphurets to pass through as fast as they accumulate into an inclinedtrough below, by which they are condueted into a receptacle on one sideof the machine, thus providing an automatic diseharge for thesulphurets.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to Secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The inclined sluice box or trough A, having its bottom formed of twoor more rearwardly-inclined sections, c d, the upper section beingformed of two inelined surfaces, of, the surface e provided with atransverse discharge passage or channel, X, having the perforatedregulating-plates yz, in combination With mechanism, substantially asshown and described, for imparting to the box A a transverse rockingmotion and a longitudinal vibration and jar, for the purpose set forth.

2. The pan, sluice, or trough A, having its forward end supported on asingle whecl midway between its sides, and its rear end suspended from arocker or walking beam, I, by rods h h, in combination with thecrank-shaft J and levers K Z, substantially as specified.

3. The inclined pan, sluice, or trongh A, supported at its fron't end bya single wheel or roller, Gr, and suspended at its rcar end by rods h 7ofrom a rocking beam, I, in combination with the pnsh-beam, R,1ever Q,cam p, and crank-shalt J, substantially as and for the pnrposedescribed.

In witncss whereof I have herennto set my hand. p

CHARLES \V. PATTEN.

Attest:

GEo. T. KNoX, WM. H. CLARK.

